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HomeMy WebLinkAboutReso 036-00 EMSRESOLUTION NO. 36 - 00 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN APPROVING A LETTER OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN ALAMEDA COUNTY FIRE DISTRICT AND CITY OF DUBLIN REGARDING PROVISION OF EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES' WHEREAS, the City of Dublin (hereafter "City") presently intends to enter into the First Responder ALS Agreement with Alameda County, which among other things, requires the City to provide certain forms of emergency medical assistance by staffing at least three (3) fire department vehicles with at least one paramedic each, in retum for specified compensation; and WHEREAS, there already exists between the City of Dublin and the Alameda County Fire District (hereafter "ACFD") an Agreement Regarding Fire and Emergency Response Services, which requires ACFD to satisfy the City's obligations under any such First Responder Agreement; and WHEREAS, the City and ACFD desire to clarify their respective obligations under the Fire and Emergency Response Services Agreement, in light of the City's new obligations under the First Responder Agreement, the parties have entered into a Letter of Understanding, attached as Exhibit A; and WHEREAS, a staff report was submitted recommending the City Council approve the Letter of Understanding; and WHEREAS, the City Council did hear and used its independent judgement and considered all said reports, recommendations and testimony here and above set forth. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Dublin does hereby authorize and direct the City Manager to sign the Letter of Understanding (Exhibit A) between the City of Dublin and Alameda County Fire District. PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED, this 7th day of March, 2000. AYES: Councilmembers Howard, McCormick, Zika, Vice Mayor Lockhart and Mayor Houston NOES: None ABSENT: ABSTAIN: ATTEST: None None [,~ (ty Clerk- Mayor Pro ~empore 2 K/G/3-7-00/reso-fire-lou.doc (Item 8.2) LETTER OF UNDERSTANDING BETVVEEN THE CITY OF DUBLIN AND ALAMEDA COUNTY FIRE DISTRICT ~ , y 'y ' (' eafter City ) an---~'-~-~e County of Alar~ed~- (hereafter "County") on behalf of the Alameda County Fire District (hereafter "ACFD") (also known as the Alameda County Fire Department) as a clarification of the terms of the current Agreement between the City and the ACFD Regarding Fire and Emergency Response Services (hereafter "FERS Agreement") as they relate to the City's obligations under the ALS First Responder Services Agreement (hereafter "FRALS Agreement") between the County and the City. GENERAL STATEMENT On February'15, 2000, City entered into the FRALS Agreement with the County, which among other things, requires the City to provide certain forms of emergency medical assistance by staffing at least three (3) fire department vehicles with at least one paramedic each. In section 3(a)(3) of the FERS Agreement, ACFD agreed to fulfill the City's obligations under any First Responder Agreement between the City and the County. ACFD hereby renews its commitment to fulfill those obligations. However, because of differences in the language and requirements of the two agreements, the City and ACFD believe that the following clarifications are necessary to assure proper compliance with both agreements. ACFD's duty to fulfill City's obligations under the FRALS Agreement shall not affect City's right to receive all revenue from the County under that Agreement, as specified in section 3(a)(3) of the FERS Agreement. City and ACFD understand that there may be additional costs associated with the implementation of the FRALS agreement in the areas of additional training, reporting, etc. City and ACFD agree that ACFD will advise the City of such increases. City and ACFD further agree, as part of the budget process outlined generally in. section 5 of the FERS Agreement, to consider and include reasonable increases resulting from First Responder responsibilities. STAFFING Letter of Understanding regarding ALS First Responder Agreement Exhibit A The FRALS Agreement requires the City to maintain three (3) First Responder Advanced Life Support units. A First Responder is defined in Section 3.11 as a fire department vehicle. Section 3.1 defines a First Responder ALS unit (FRALS) as a unit staffed and equipped with a minimum of one California State licensed and Alameda County accredited paramedic capable of providing ALS. Section 3(a)(1)(B) of the FERS Agreement provides that ACFD shall staff "each engine on each shift with a certified firefighter/paramedic .... " Similarly, section 3(a)(3) states that, in responding to emergency medical incidents, "each engine company will be staffed with one (1) paramedic and two(2) EMT-D trained personnel.. · ." Pursuant to the FERS Agreement, ACFD presently operates three (3) vehicles (two (2) engines and one (1) truck) each of which is staffed with one (1) paramedic whose training satisfies the requirements of the FRALS Agreement. City and ACFD hereby agree that, although the terms of the FERS Agreement require ACFD to staff only "engines" with paramedics, ACFD will nevertheless continue to staff both engines and the trL~ck with at least one (1) paramedic each, and that the paramedic on each vehicle will continue to satisfy the certification and accreditation requirements of the FRALS Agreement. City and ACFD further agree that ACFD will also continue to staff both engines and the truck with two (2)-EMT-D trained personnel each. Section 3(a)(1)(B) of the FERS Agreement provides that, in the event ACFD has to deploy companies outside City, ACFD will arrange for appropriate back-up coverage. City and ACFD agree that, in such event, ACFD will assure that the back-up coverage will meet City's obligations pursuant to the FRALS Agreement. SERVICE AREA Section 4 of the FRALS Agreement requires that City respond to all emergency medical services within the limits of the City. Section 3(a)(1)(A) of the FERS Agreement limits the ACFD's response area. Under subsection (i), ACFD does not have to provide any services to federally owned property within the City generally identified as the Parks Reseve Forces Training Area and Federal Correctional Institution properties, except as provided for under mutual aid agreements. Under subSection (ii), ACFD does not have to provide fire prevention services to the County Sheriffs property. Pursuant to a letter from County, acting as the Local Emergency Medical Services Agency (hereafter "LEMSA") and as the Emergency Medical Services District, Letter of Understanding regarding ALS First Responder Agreement County has recognized that City cannot provide emergency medical service to the federal and county property discussed above, except pursuant to mutual aid agreements, and has granted City a limited exemption from doing so. A copy of that letter is attached as Attachment 1, and is hereby incorporated by reference and made a part of this Agreement. As long as the City continues to be exempted by the LEMSA and the EMS District from providing EMS to the areas described above, except pursuant to mutual aid, ACFD will satisfy City's FRALS obligations by responding to calls for EMS in all other areas within City's limits. RESPONSE TIME Section 5.1 of the FRALS Agreement requires the City, in responding to requests for Code 3 medical assistance that originate within the City's Primary Service Area, to place a FRALS unit on the scene within ten (10) minutes of receiving the call at least ninety percent (90%) of the time. Section 3(a)(3) of the FERS Agreement states that "Emergency Medical Response Service shall be provided in accordance with Section 3(a)(1)(A)-(G)." Section 3(a)(1)(D) of the FERS Agreement states that, on "single unit" incidents, ACFD will, in responding to at least ninety percent (90%) of such incidents, arrive at the scene of an emergency incident within five (5) minutes or less from the time that the company is dispatched. It further provides that, on "multiple unit incidents," the "first due" company will, in responding to at least ninety percent (90%) of such incidents, arrive at the scene of an emergency incident within five ,(5) minutes or less of being dispatched. The remaining units will, in responding' to at least ninety percent (90%) of such incidents, arrive at the scene of the emergency incident within at least ten (10) minutes of the first due unit being dispatched. HistoricallY, section 3(a)(3) has been interpreted to mean that, in responding to calls for emergency medical services, ACFD must comply with the response time requirements for single unit incidents. In other words, ACFD response to calls for emergency medical services has been timed from the dispatch of the first responding unit to its arrival on the scene of the emergency incident, regardless of how many units are necessary to respond to the incident. City and ACFD hereby agree that "emergency incident," as that term is used in the FERS Agreement, includes all Code 3 emergencies, as defined in section 3.13 and used in section 5 of the FRALS Agreement. City and ACFD further agree that ACFD will continue to comply with the response time standards established in the FERS Letter of Understanding regarding ALS First Responder Agreement Agreement, meaning that ACFD's first responding unit shall respond to ninety percent (90%) of all emergency incidents within five (5) minutes of being dispatched. However, ACFD shall also comply with all aspects of the response time standards in the FRALS Agreement over which ACFD exercises control. RECORD KEEPING AND REPORTING Section 12.1 of the FRALS Agreement requires City, within fifteen (15) days following the end of each quarter, to report to the County in writing, using fractile response time method, each emergency call dispatched that did not meet the response time requirement and each failure to report on-scene time properly. It further requires the City to identify the causes of any performance failures and to document efforts to eliminate such problems. Section 3(e)(6)(B) of the FERS Agreement provides that ACFD will maintain sufficient records to enable City to meet its FRALS Agreement reporting requirements. City and ACFD agree that ACFD will additionally satisfy City's reporting requirements under the FRALS Agreement, sending a copy of each required report to the City at the same time that ACFD sends one to the County. Section 12.2 of the FRALS Agreement requires City to use the County's "Patient Care Report" (PCR) system for all assignment including patient contact and non- transport. City and ACFD agree that ACFD will use the patient report forms that are part of the PCR system. DATED: CITY OF DUBLIN ALAMEDA COUNTY FIRE DISTRICT By: ~~__~ (¢c~, ~ By: Richard C. Ambrose ~ City Manager Approved as to form: ~¢'Elizabeth Silver, City Attorney ALS First Responder'Agreement William McCammon, Fire Chief 4